This week, the Texas Senate passed several bills including Senate Bill 10, which would require the posting of the Ten Commandments in all Texas classrooms, and SB 11, which would allow districts to adopt a policy for a period of prayer in schools. Bills like SB 10 and SB 11 are the reason our members listed the freedom of religion in our public schools as one of 10 essential rights for public school employees in our educator-created legislative agenda. The Legislature has far more important considerations when we have public schools across this state with deficit budgets, laying off staff, closing campuses, and cutting student services.
Likewise, SB 412 is a solution in search of a problem that could actually have many unintended consequences. SB 412 would remove an affirmative defense of “educational” purpose to the charge of distributing “harmful” materials to children was passed as well. Texas AFT opposed SB 412 because these changes might bring about harmful consequences to educators who do not engage in harmful conduct but could be casualties of a pared-down affirmative defense nonetheless. Why? The bill analysis indicates the concern behind this legislation is instructional materials and library materials that may be related to a recent parent’s challenge to the Commissioner of Education about a school district’s library materials.
To end on a positive note, Texas AFT supported SB 3 by Sen. Charles Perry, which successfully passed the Senate this week. SB 3 establishes safety-first, common-sense regulations for consumable hemp products that are easily accessible to minors under current law. Student and educator safety is a top concern for our members, and we thank Senator Perry for filing this bill. Unregulated hemp products like Delta-8 and Delta-9 are flooding Texas, putting kids at risk with no safety checks, no age limits, and dangerous additives. This is not just a policy gap; it’s a threat to our kids’ physical safety.